With a remit of a Grand Slam in 2016 and winning a World Cup the SRU cannot be accused of lacking ambition, but how does the Union’s finances break down, who is stepping down and what can still improve?

He may have slickly been suggesting that everything had fallen into place for him, but in sporting terms he was certainly correct. If you get there in the right time you get Gold. If you show your hand too early you lose the pot. If you slow your pace too much you are behind the fans, and they are gone.

For this reason I must offer my congratulations to the think tank at Murrayfield because, in the parlance of modern sport, they’ve played a blinder.